IDC Listens to Customers for Best Hearing Device Design

International product design and development company, IDC (Industrial Design Consultancy), has just completed a clever retrofit design project for hearing device manufacturer, Nurotron. Following a series of user issues with an existing medical hearing device, IDC worked with Nurotron to create a high end device which has improved the user experience by achieving optimum performance and quality.

Nurotron needed to develop a cost-effective solution to improve an existing model following feedback from its customers. Mrs Zhang, Nurotron Vice President explains, “We tasked IDC with addressing certain problem areas and identifying ways to create a high quality product and user experience without changing the skeleton of the design. We briefed IDC on our customer’s needs and requirements. The key issue for us was perception of product quality and actual product reliability and there was also a clear need to implement water resistance.” This challenging project required a lot of thought and experience to problem-solve how to make improvements without requiring any tooling investment.

The retrofit design needed to look, feel and perform as a high quality product without exceeding Nurotron’s budget. IDC’s team redesigned the connection between the battery pack and the BTE (behind the ear) signal processor, ensured rigidity of components, solved water ingress issues and eliminated the failing electrical connection completely. Predefined and limited space to insert the new connection mechanism required significant ingenuity to overcome this challenge.

Mike Pratt, Technical Director IDC China, concludes, “Working within an existing design and a set budget is always a significant test for product developers. Our development approach involved investigating multiple problems with product performance and user experience, looking at each within context. This was compiled into a feasibility report detailing the risk and budget implications — effectively a solutions matrix. Nurotron was then able to make an informed decision, taking on some of the tasks internally and outsourcing the more complex and higher risk options for IDC to resolve.”

The end result was a product with upgraded user perception and quality. Nurotron was happy with the solution IDC delivered and has carried the solution into production. Nurotron commented that it was a pleasure working with a professional and process driven team and are looking forward to consulting IDC again for new product solutions.